McClusky and her twin sister were just 4 years old. They were with family friends waiting for ice cream when the plane made a violent and fiery entrance.

“Everything happened so fast,” said McClusky.

McClusky survived but her twin didn’t.

“I pulled up in the Farrell’s ice parking lot about 15 minutes before the plane crash. I saw the people lining up,” said Kanoff.

Kanoff saw and heard everything, the crash, the screams for help, and the kids. But digging through the rumble, he found a miracle.

“After we pulled it out, we found a little hand waving,” said Kanoff.

The little girl was one of many who did survive.

“It was so chaotic; you don’t remember a lot of stuff,” said one survivor.

Making it more chaotic was the lack of know-how to treat burn victims.

“There were just too many people that were hurt and needed help, and there wasn’t enough bed space or professional know-how with how to deal with the burns or types of traumatic injuries,” said McClusky.

There are now two world-class burn units, Shriner’s and UC Davis, which were inspired by a 40-year-old disaster.